APC AP9607 User Manual

Interface

Expander

AP9607

®

Thank You!

Thank you for selecting the UPS Interface Expander (AP9607). It has been designed for many years of reliable, maintenance-free service in combination with your American Power Conversion (APC) uninterruptible power supply (UPS). APC is dedicated to the development of high-performance electrical power conversion and control products. We hope that you will find this product a valuable, convenient addition to your computing system.

Please read this manual! It provides important safety, installation, and operating instructions that will help you get the most from your Interface Expander.

Save this manual! It includes instructions for obtaining warranty service.

Radio frequency interference

WARNING: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.

•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Shielded communications cables must be used with this unit to ensure compliance with the Class B FCC limits.

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Overview 1

Features of the Interface Expander 2

Hardware and software requirements 3

Choosing cables 4

Safety warning 4

Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Interface Expander panel 5

Basic monitoring ports 5

Configuration DIP switches 5

Status LED 6

Key Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Simple versus smart signaling 7

Master server versus Interface Expander servers 8

Configuring PowerChute plus for simple signaling 9

Low Battery signal 10

Scheduled shutdowns 10

Setup overview 11

Multiple SmartSlot Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Introduction 12

Priority of SmartSlot devices 12

If your UPS has one SmartSlot accessory slot 13

Installation in the APC Triple Chassis 13

Installation in the Symmetra PowerArray 14

Daisy chains 14

Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Warning 15

Reminder 15

Installation procedure 15

i

Contents continued

Connecting to Protected Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Connection procedure 17

Connecting the Interface Expander 18

Configuring the Interface Expander . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Shutdown modes 19

DIP switches 19

Confirmed shutdown mode 20

PowerChute plus support for Confirmed shutdown mode 20

Behavior of Confirmed mode 21

Confirmed shutdown mode and the Advanced port 21 Until Low Battery shutdown mode 22

Timer shutdown mode 22

Testing the Interface Expander 23

Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Limited warranty 24

Obtaining service 24

Warranty limitations 25

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

If you have problems with your Interface Expander 26

Troubleshooting 26

If problems persist 28

Life-Support Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

General policy 29

Examples of life-support devices 29

Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Basic port pin assignments 30

Basic port pin assignments 31

Product specifications 32

ii

Introduction

Overview	The UPS Interface Expander (AP9607) is an American
	Power Conversion (APC) SmartSlot™ accessory that pro-
	vides two additional computer interface ports for your APC
	UPS equipped with a SmartSlot accessory slot. It allows the
	UPS to work in conjunction with your power management
	software to provide safe system shutdown in extended
	power outages for up to three network servers or other
	devices.
	Since the computer interface port of the UPS remains avail-
	able while using the Interface Expander, it is possible to
	provide advanced UPS and power management functions to
	all protected devices. You can provide power management
	with APC PowerChute© plus software and UPS accessories
	such as the APC Web/SNMP Management Card (AP9606)
	for network connectivity and the Call-UPS© II (AP9208,
	AP9608) remote management device.
	The Interface Expander draws power from the UPS. It
	monitors the UPS and reports power conditions (e.g., On
	Battery, Low Battery, On Line) to all attached devices.
	Continued on next page

1

Introduction continued

Features of

the Interface

Expander

The Interface Expander:

•Mounts in all APC devices equipped with a SmartSlot accessory slot.

•Works well in a heterogeneous network. Servers running different operating systems can monitor the same UPS simultaneously.

•Supports advanced or simple signaling on the advanced port of the UPS.

•Can delay shutdown of the UPS until all servers have shut down gracefully.

•Allows you to restart hung servers.

•Has operating modes that cause the UPS to shut down after confirmation from all protected devices or after an interval set by the user. See “Configuring the Interface Expander” on page 19.

•Does not depend on the operation of the network to protect connected devices. As a hard-wired accessory, the Interface Expander reliably conveys important status messages during poor power conditions.

Continued on next page

2

Introduction continued

Hardware and

software

requirements

The Interface Expander requires:

•An APC device equipped with a SmartSlot accessory slot. SmartSlot devices include—but are not limited to—the APC UPSs in the next item.

•An APC UPS of one the following models:

–Smart- UPS® , except models AP250, AP400, AP600, AP900, AP1250, AP2000, SUVS420, SUVS650, SUVS1000, SUVS1400, SU620.

–Matrix- UPS™ , except models with serial numbers less than x9412.

– Symmetra ™ PowerArray™ .

•APC PowerChute software (simple signaling) or PowerChute plus (advanced or simple signaling) software. See “Simple versus smart signaling: Table 3” on page 7.

•A serial cable (for each connected device) that monitors shutdown signals. See “Choosing cables: Table 1” on page 4.

Continued on next page

3

Introduction	continued
Choosing	This table lists the cables for use with the systems supported
cables:	by the Interface Expander. When ordering a cable, provide
Table 1	the Part Number.
	IF you want to		Part
	connect the Interface	THEN order…
			Number
	Expander to a(n)…
	Windows or NetWare	UPS LAN Manager Cable	940-0020
	server
	UNIX server	UNIX Basic Signaling	AP9823
		Cable
	IBM AS/400	AS/400 Cable Model 9402/	940-0006
		9404
	Macintosh Apple-	PowerChute for Macintosh	AP9001
	Share server	(software and cable)
	15-ft extension cable	UPS Interface Extension	AP9815
	50-ft extension cable	Isolated Extension Cable	AP9825

Safety warning The Interface Expander is to be used only in conjunction with an APC UPS. Use only APC UPS monitoring cables. Do not connect a computer to any Interface Expander port using a “straight-through” wired extending cable. Connections using a UPS or cable made by any other manufacturer may cause damage or improper operation of the the Interface Expander unit, the UPS, or the computer.

Do not operate the Interface Expander where the ambient temperature or humidity is outside the limits listed in “Product specifications: Table 7” on page 32.

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Product Description

Interface Expander panel: Figure 1

The following figure shows the front panel of the Interface Expander. The panel contains:

•2 Basic monitoring ports

•4 Configuration DIP switches

•a status LED

Basic	The two computer interface ports on the Interface Expander
monitoring	are called Basic ports because they supply simple UPS sig-
ports	naling for On Battery and Low Battery conditions in the
	UPS. For further information see “Simple versus smart sig-
	naling: Table 3,” on page 7.
Configuration	The Interface Expander Configuration DIP switches control
DIP switches	the shutdown operation of the unit. See “Configuring the
	Interface Expander” on page 19.
			Continued on next page

5

Product Description continued

Status LED: The Interface Expander status LED provides important Table 2 information concerning operation of the unit. Refer to the

table below for a description of the conditions indicated by the LED.

Status	Description
On	Normal operation. The Interface
	Expander is on and communicating
	with the UPS.
Mostly on, with a single	The Interface Expander is signaling a
blink off	UPS On Battery condition to the con-
	nected servers.
Mostly on, with two	The Interface Expander is signaling
blinks off	On Battery and Low Battery condi-
	tions to the connected servers, and will
	eventually shut down the UPS.
Flashing continuously	Shutdown of the UPS is imminent.
Mostly off, with a single	UPS outputs are off— UPS is in Sleep
flash on	mode.
Blinking slowly and	The Interface Expander failed its self-
continuously	test.
Off	The Interface Expander is powered off
	or is not able to communicate with the
	UPS.

6

Key Concepts

Simple versus The communication between an APC UPS and a connected smart signaling: server can be of two types: simple signaling or smart signal- Table 3 ing. This table provides information that distinguishes the

two types.

		Communication Types
	Item
		Simple Signaling	Smart Signaling
	UPS mon-	–On Batter y signal	–On Batter y signal
	itoring	–Low Batter y signal	–Low Batter y signal
	features		–Continuous advanced
			monitoring visible in
			PowerChute plus
			graphs
	Software	PowerChute	PowerChute plus
	used	(or PowerChute plus	configured for smart sig-
		configured for simple	naling
		signaling)
	Port type	Basic	Advanced or Basic
	UPS	–Back-UPS	–Smart-UPS,
	models	–Smart-UPS †	–Matrix-UPS, and
	supported	–Matrix-UPS	–S ymmetra PowerArray
		–S ymmetra PowerArray
	Communi-	Cables in the interface	Cable supplied with
	cation	kit associated with each	PowerChute plus
	cables	OS. See “Choosin g
		cables: Table 1” on page
		4.

†See “Hardware and software requirements,” on pa ge 3 for a listing of APC UPSs that do not support simple signaling with the Interface Expander.

Continued on next page

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Key Concepts continued

Master server	A “master” server is a server connected to the (Advanced)
versus Interface	computer interface port of the UPS. This server uses
Expander	PowerChute plus, configured for smart signaling, to moni-
servers	tor and control the UPS. Although the Advanced port on the
	UPS can provide simple signaling, we strongly recommend
	using it for smart signaling with the advanced capabilities of
	PowerChute plus.
	Servers connected to the Basic ports of the Interface
	Expander use simple signaling with PowerChute or
	PowerChute plus to provide UPS shutdown capabilities and
	advanced notification features. If you are running
	PowerChute plus on these servers, you must configure it for
	simple signaling. See “Configuring PowerChute plus for
	simple signaling” on page 9.
	Continued on next page

8

Key Concepts continued

Configuring	To use PowerChute plus on a server connected to the Inter-
PowerChute plus face Expander, configure PowerChute plus for simple
for simple	signaling. Use either one of these procedures.
signaling	1	(Re)install PowerChute plus. When the installation
		program prompts for the UPS Type, select “Back-
		UPS” and continue with the installation, including
		a reboot of the system.
	2	Run PowerChute plus and connect to the UPS.
	3	Verify that the status line on the PowerChute plus
		screen shows “On Line.” Proceed with Step 4
		below.
		OR
	1	With PowerChute plus running, select Communi-
		cation Parameters from the Configuration
		menu.
	2	Click Simple Signalling. Click OK.
	3	Close PowerChute plus.
	4	If the UPS had previously been connected using
		smart signaling:
		a Unplug the UPS.
		b Turn off the UPS output by pressing the Off
		button for at least 5 seconds.
		c Change communication cables, using the sim-
		ple signaling cable from the interface kit. (See
		“Choosing cables: Table 1” on page 4.)
	5	Restart PowerChute plus and attach the server to
		the UPS.
	6	Verify that the status of the UPS on the
		PowerChute plus screen shows “On Line.”

Continued on next page

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